Outlook for 2017 will be dependent on curbs on illicit cigarettes : BAT

KUALA LUMPUR: British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT) said the outlook of 2017 will be highly dependent on the effectiveness of the government's initiatives to curb the illegal trade.
Managing director Erik Stoel said to partially address this challenging business environment, it is making transformative change to its business model in 2016 while optimising its supply chain and transactional activities.
BAT remains concerned by the current high level of illegal cigarette trade, which forms the main challenge in the short and medium term for the legal tobacco industry after its sharp increase to a record high of 57.1% of total cigarette consumption as of December 2016.
2016 was a challenging year for the legal tobacco industry in Malaysia. BAT's revenue fell 18% last year while its domestic and duty-free volumes dropped 27.8%.